# How long does it take Cecil/staff to reply? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [August 20, 2002, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-cecil-staff-to-reply/124721 "2002-08-20T10:57:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bromley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@Bromley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bromley)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2002, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-cecil-staff-to-reply/124721/1 "2002-08-20T10:57:34Z")
This isn’t a complaint or whinge. I’m just wondering if any of you know the lead time on replies to questions submitted to Cecil/staff (always assuming of course that they reply 🙂 ). ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2002, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-cecil-staff-to-reply/124721/2 "2002-08-20T11:54:03Z")
Probably be faster if you had posted this on the ATMB forum. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2002, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-cecil-staff-to-reply/124721/3 "2002-08-20T12:32:17Z")
The answer is: it depends. Please be aware that Cecil gets around 300 questions each week. Staff sort through the mail initially, trying to get to things within a week to ten days (at the moment, we’re running considerably behind that target.) The mail most likely to get a quick response answer would be (a) questions that Cecil or some other source (Staff Reports, snopes, etc) has already answered or (b) questions that would be better posted on the Message Boards. Some email is just discarded. That includes random insults, spam, personal questions, philosophic preferences, and questions that are too stupid to consider are usually just discarded with no effort made to answer them. Questions that are worthy of Cecil’s consideration are passed on to him. What happens from there, depends. We do not run an information-please type of site. Cecil himself is paid to write one column a week, which usually answers only one question. There are usually about two Staff Reports each week. Thus, most questions, even the ones that make it past the initial screening, will never be answered. Sorry to say that, but it’s so… sheer volumn dictates that. Trivia questions (“What’s the name of the Lone Ranger’s nephew’s horse?”) that can be answered in one word or one sentence won’t fill up a column, and so are usually either discarded or referred to the Message Boards. Don’t be discouraged, though. Sometimes, questions sit around for years before someone takes them on – I’m currently working on a two-years ago question, for instance, for a future Staff Report. Sometimes it takes months to track down sources. Others get answered fairly quickly. A lot depends on Cecil’s mood – in the summer, he tends to get lazy. So, if you haven’t got an answer to an email within about two weeks of sending, then either it was considered too stupid to be bothered with or it’s sitting in Cecil’s pile… and there’s no telling what happens to it next. In short, if you asked a decent question, then no news is (relatively speaking) good news. Hope that helps. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2002, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-cecil-staff-to-reply/124721/4 "2002-08-20T12:35:41Z")
Check out my .sig. ---
**Author:** ![femtosecond](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@femtosecond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femtosecond)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2002, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-cecil-staff-to-reply/124721/5 "2002-08-20T13:00:35Z")
[http://www.iowalink.com/users/kbar/silver.htm](http://www.iowalink.com/users/kbar/silver.htm) > [@](#): > > A third white horse was “rented” from the Spahn Ranch for the episodes featuring “Dan Reid”, the Lone Ranger’s nephew. Dan’s horse, per the story line, was named “Victor” and sired by Silver. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2002, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-cecil-staff-to-reply/124721/6 "2002-08-20T13:45:23Z")
I posted detailed corrections to one of Cecil’s columns, about radio call letters, on this message board, and Cecil himself personally responded that he would put together a comprehensive reply “soon”. And a newspaper column with the corrections did eventually appear, _over two years later_. (The revised column was, of course, comprehensive and dead-on accurate. Just, I thought, a little tardy). ---
**Author:** ![Bromley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@Bromley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bromley)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2002, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-cecil-staff-to-reply/124721/7 "2002-08-20T15:47:44Z")
Thanks people. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2002, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-cecil-staff-to-reply/124721/8 "2002-08-20T15:53:45Z")
The mills of the gods grind slow, but they grind exceeding fine. From [The Straight Dope FAQs](http://www.straightdope.com/faq/officialfaq.html) > [@](#): > > **What’s the average lag between the time you receive a question and the time the answer appears in print?** > > Sometime between 15 minutes and never. The longest lag we know of for a question that was actually published was nine years. But that was unusual. If a question is worth answering, we make a genuine effort to do so while the question asker is still alive. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2002, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-cecil-staff-to-reply/124721/9 "2002-08-20T17:44:47Z")
Note that “questions too stupid to answer” may also be saved for filler, in a short column. You know, occasionally you’ll see “Questions we’re still thinking about” at the bottom of the main answer. Another factor which can lead to old questions being answered is new staff. Shortly after I signed on, for instance, several old astronomy questions were dug up. ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-cecil-staff-to-reply/124721/10 "2002-08-21T00:13:15Z")
I had a question answered, but it took a LONG time from when I submitted it. Quite a few months, in fact. But that’s OK. It was worth it 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-cecil-staff-to-reply/124721/11 "2002-08-21T01:03:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by C K Dexter Haven \* > So, if you haven’t got an answer to an email within about two weeks of sending, then either it was considered too stupid to be bothered with or it’s sitting in Cecil’s pile… and there’s no telling what happens to it next. In short, if you asked a decent question, then no news is (relatively speaking) good news. Jeez, I think I’ve asked three questions over the years, and I still haven’t heard anything. Now that I’ve forgotten what two of them even were, I can expect answers any day now! ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2002, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-cecil-staff-to-reply/124721/12 "2002-08-22T20:44:42Z")
Of course, if you help out Cecil by bringing new information on a popular topic to his attention, your “letter” can get published pretty fast; like, within a month. Check out the sig: